Intellectual disability: Definition, symptoms, Treatment and causes
What is an intellectual disability?
An intellectual disability is a condition in which a person is unable to learn at the level they would normally be able to and function in everyday life.
Mental retardation is a deficiency in the ability of a person to think and understand compared to children of the same age. It is low mental development and not a disease. In general terms, there is a clear difference in the mental and physical age of such a child. That is, mental age lags behind physical age. Such children lag behind their peers in all stages of life. Due to this specific issue, the following capabilities are most affected:
- Thinking ability / Academic ability
- Ability to adapt to your surroundings
- Ability to speak and understand verbal communication
- Personal care OR self-care
- Social relationships and emotional reactions
Age range
Mental retardation appears before the age of 18. Such children have an intelligence quotient (IQ) less than 70 on the intelligence scale. The intelligence level can be measured by different types of psychological tests.
levels of Intellectual Disability
There are 4 levels of intellectual disability:
- Mild mental retardation
- Moderate mental retardation
- Severe mental retardation
- Profound mental retardation
Symptoms
Mental retardation can be recognized in the following ways:
- Delays in developmental stages such as neck holding, sitting, walking, talking
- Physical defects such as small or large head, light or soft hair, rough skin, slanted eyes, and thick tongue
- Difficulty or delay in understanding and processing speech
- Falling behind peers academically
- Difficulty in Taking care of oneself such as eating, toileting, bathing, and dressing
Causes
Mental retardation can also be hereditary, but the condition can usually be caused by complications before, during, or after birth.
Its common causes include lack of food in the mother during pregnancy, mental stress, smoking or alcohol and other drug use during pregnancy, premature birth, delayed birth, delayed crying immediately after birth, or any other.
Which is Caused by obstruction of oxygen supply to the brain from the lungs, severe fever or epileptic seizures in childhood, infectious diseases in childhood that cause inflammation of the brain, severe brain injury, or childhood exposure to mercury, lead, and other hazardous chemicals usage.
Sometimes mental retardation can be accompanied by psychiatric diseases such as behavioral problems, emotional disturbances, epilepsy, and depression. These problems could be treated with medication.
Treatment
Children with this problem may not be completely like their peers, but with treatment, the mental and physical age gap can be reduced. Such children through special training methods can be able to live near-normal lives. These children require special education and training in a special environment.
These children can be treated in a team work under the supervision of qualified specialists, including psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, patch therapists, and physiotherapists. Children are taught a variety of skills during treatment through innovative individualized education programs (IEPs) around the world. Apart from this, keeping in mind the problems of the children, their training should be done on an individual level.
Various means are used during treatment. These resources include individual psychotherapy, group and family therapy, counseling, patch therapy, and medication. All education and training (IEPs) are tailored to the child's individual and specific needs.
- The child should not depend on anyone but on themselves
- Be able to control their movements
- Can use their tongue correctly
- Can use mental abilities normally
- Successful living by better utilizing social and societal resources
The main purpose of all this training is that together we enable such children to be able to live a successful life close to their peers.
Important Note: The sooner the treatment the better the results
Many children with intellectual disabilities seem like other children, but it is important to identify and treat their problems. Early identification of the problem helps in treatment. Early treatment plays an important role in making the child function well in life both mentally and physically.
Remember
- Home is the best education institute for an intellectual disability child
- With your sincere work, best skills, and guidance mentally retarded children can be brought closer to normal children.
- Nothing is impossible, only hard work is required.
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